Forced into a romantic relationship

Hanging up the phone, looking at the dim sky, Han Zhou temporarily stopped thinking about Xiao Yixia and instead pondered a more pressing issue—

Where should he stay for a whole month?

Although it was a rural area, there were hotels there. However, most of his money was in his phone, and he certainly couldn't use that money in the past. This meant he couldn't afford a hotel, but he couldn't just sleep on the streets, could he?

Looking back at the direction of the restaurant, Han Zhou smiled bitterly to himself. Could it be that he had transmigrated twice and still had to work to earn money?
With his status bar, making money would be easy for him, but he has important things to do when he goes back in time, so he can't really spend a lot of time making money.

Sigh, the status bar is fine, but it just can't conjure up money directly...

Han Zhou sighed inwardly, pondering where he could get some money.

He himself didn't care, but if he really had no money, he couldn't possibly let a young girl pay for his meal when he met Xiao Yixia next week, could he?
Although he had been taken advantage of by Yixia before, it would be too shameful for him to be taken advantage of by even a primary school student like Yixia.

While he was pondering, the restaurant owner appeared outside the phone booth. Seemingly noticing Han Zhou's predicament, he tentatively asked, "Young man, haven't you found a place to stay yet?"

He had been standing at the restaurant entrance observing the young man, who had made several phone calls. He wondered if the young man had been able to contact his family, and he couldn't help but come over to check on him.

"It hasn't been found yet."

Han Zhou smiled bitterly, thinking that he should ask the boss for another loan, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. After all, it was the first time they had met, and even if the boss was kind, there was no reason for him to lend him more money.

"I knew it."

The shopkeeper gave him a knowing look. He could tell that the young man had run out of money and couldn't afford a hotel. So he waved to the young man and signaled him to come with him.

“I do have an empty room on the second floor of my house, which is my son’s room. He works in the city and doesn’t come back for months at a time. The room is just sitting empty anyway. If you don’t mind, you can stay at my house for a while.”

Han Zhou was taken aback, and subconsciously said, "Isn't this a bit inappropriate? Besides, I can't afford the rent right now..."

"Hey, don't talk about rent. Just stay here in peace. It's not the first time I've let young people like you... like you live in my house."

The boss smiled and waved his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then offered a roundabout piece of advice, "These days, everyone encounters difficulties, but difficulties are only temporary. There's no need to take them to heart. As the old saying goes, after the storm comes the rainbow."

He was worried that the young man hadn't given up on his suicidal thoughts, but he didn't dare to call the police or contact the young man's family. After all, the suicide attempt was just his guess, and it might just be a misunderstanding. If he meant well but ended up doing something wrong, it would be troublesome.

Besides, young people these days care a lot about their image. If we meddle in their affairs too much, it might provoke a rebellious attitude in the child. So it's better to observe for a few days first.

With me watching over him, even if this young man really has a moment of madness, I can stop him from doing something foolish in time.

Thinking of this, the boss turned around and said, "It's settled then. Come on, I'll take you to the room now."

Seeing the boss's firm attitude, Han Zhou couldn't very well refuse the other party's kindness, and besides, he didn't want to sleep on the streets, so he sincerely thanked him and said, "Then I'll have to bother you."

The boss didn't say much, but walked ahead and led the way. After walking for a while, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, young man, that friend you had a fight with... did you contact her just now?"

"not yet."

"Oh, I see. But I saw you made several phone calls just now. I thought..."

I don't have her phone number.

"Huh? But aren't you friends? How come friends don't even have a phone number..."

The boss stopped talking before he could finish, suddenly realizing that his friend might have changed his number to avoid the young man, and that the conflict between them might be more serious than he had imagined.

After a moment of silence, to lighten the mood, the boss tentatively asked in a joking tone, "Hey young man, your friend is probably a girl, right?"

Only a woman would deliberately change her phone number to avoid someone.

Han Zhou was unaware that his boss had completely misunderstood. He was somewhat surprised by what the other party said, but he didn't ask any further questions and simply hummed in agreement.

With the accommodation issue resolved, there was no need to rush into making money. He was now thinking about how to approach Xiao Wang Leng Qiu and what kind of relationship to have with her.

After that phone call with Xiao Yixia, he had made up his mind—he would try to change the past, but not in such an ugly way as escaping from Xiao Wang Lengqiu's world.

If the past can influence the future, then what he needs to do is create a better future to prevent Wang Lengqiu from disappearing.

If the future is already set, then he has even less reason to be timid and hesitant during this month, worrying about things that should be considered in the future.

But then again, can I get points from Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu? I'll be staying there for a month, and if the points just keep going out and not coming in, it feels really unsafe...

But if you want to gain points from Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu, wouldn't you have to get her to say "I want to be in a relationship"? Tricking a young girl into saying something like that is just too sinful...

Han Zhou's expression was complicated. He suddenly remembered that when he first met Wang Lengqiu in the "future," the other party still had the "unlockable" tag above her head. He immediately realized that he should not have done such a shameful thing as seducing a young girl when he came to the past last time. He should not lose face this time either.

Ultimately, he couldn't let Xiao Wang and Leng Qiu develop any romantic feelings this time.

No, there's no "last time" or "next time," it's clearly the same time...

Han Zhou shook his head inwardly, marveling at the complexity of time travel. But the restaurant owner saw it differently, assuming he was just in a bad mood and hesitated to speak, but ultimately said nothing more.

It's best for older people like him to stay out of the relationships between young people.

However, at that moment, Han Zhou's voice suddenly rang out behind him.

"I plan to go see her tomorrow."

The boss was taken aback, then a smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he said in a nostalgic tone, "You are much better than I was when I was young."

"I hesitated for a long time before making this decision," Han Zhou said.

"That's amazing too."

The boss shook his head. "Many people waste their time hesitating. By the time they make a decision, it's too late. Then they can only regret it. After a while, they regret why they didn't try to make amends. They live in regret for the rest of their lives."

Hearing this, Han Zhou suddenly remembered what Xiao Yixia had said on the phone not long ago—

"One should not regret what one has done."

He chuckled to himself. No wonder that guy never fought amongst himself; he understood this principle even at such a young age. But then again…

Does that guy really not have a single thing he regrets?

After that, the boss didn't mention anything about that friend again. He quickly led Han Zhou to a bedroom, gave him a few brief instructions, and then left.

The restaurant wasn't closing time yet; there might still be customers later, so he had to go back inside to keep an eye on things.

It must be said that this boss is a kind person, a kind person without any ulterior motives, who could so easily leave a stranger in his home.

The bedroom was very tidy, and it was clear that it was cleaned regularly. There was a desk and a simple bookshelf by the window, but there weren't many books on the bookshelf. It was unclear whether the books were just for decoration or if someone had taken them away.

Han Zhou had just stayed in Wang Lengqiu's room yesterday, and today he was moved to another room. He wasn't uncomfortable with it, but he felt a little sentimental. He had stayed in other people's rooms many times before, but all of them were girls' rooms. This was the first time he had stayed in a man's room.

Fortunately, that's how it is. If it were a strange woman's bedroom, he would have been too embarrassed to move in.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Han Zhou placed the umbrella against the wall, first went to the bathroom to wash off the mud, then washed his clothes before lying down on the bed to rest.

The effect of "There Will Be an Echo" took him through time and space, but it also consumed a lot of his mental energy. He needs to get a good night's sleep to replenish his energy.

"I should have asked Xiao Yixia for a photo, so I could go to her side anytime..."

"Speaking of which, I've seen photos of Senior Sister and Sister Yin when they were little. I could try using 'Echoes Will Surely Resound' to teleport to their side, which would allow me to quickly reach Lincheng..."

"There's one more thing to note. Just to be on the safe side, I shouldn't be able to meet my past self now. Although if I remember correctly, I shouldn't be in Lincheng at this time, it's still best to be careful. Wear a mask and a baseball cap when you go to Lincheng..."

"When I 'kidnap' Xiao Yixia next week, I need to be careful to disguise myself so she doesn't remember my face, lest it affect my future..."

"Hopefully, once this time travel is over and I return, everything will be going in a positive direction..."

With all sorts of thoughts swirling in his mind, Han Zhou drifted off to sleep.

……

I woke up at noon the next day.

If someone hadn't knocked on the door, Han Zhou suspected he might have slept until the afternoon.

Of course, sleeping for a long time also has its benefits. When he woke up, he felt much better and at least his eyes were no longer blurry. However, the feeling of weakness, as if his body had been hollowed out, had not completely disappeared. Obviously, it was not something that could be recovered by sleeping.

But thinking about it, it's understandable. After all, it was a time travel, which would probably cost several thousand or even tens of thousands of points. If the mental energy consumed could be replenished with a nap, then the price would be too insignificant. He could go to whichever point in time he wanted.

Han Zhou got out of bed, stuffing a powerful pill into his mouth as he opened the door. Outside was Uncle Xia, who was calling him for lunch.

As a restaurant owner, Uncle Xia usually eats lunch at the restaurant and rarely cooks at home. Therefore, Han Zhou quickly got dressed and went to the restaurant with him for lunch.

It was lunchtime, and Han Zhou could see many students in school uniforms along the way. Suddenly, he asked, "Uncle Xia, how many primary schools are around here?"

Uncle Xia smiled and said, "There are only one school in a small place like this, in the town ahead."

There's only one primary school, which means that Xiao Wang Lengqiu attends this school...

Han Zhou had an idea. He decided to wait for Xiao Wang Leng Qiu at the school gate this afternoon after school, and then find an opportunity to contact her.

That's right. Since he doesn't intend to escape from Xiao Wang Leng Qiu's world, he might as well take the initiative to contact the other party. He doesn't have that much time to let things take their course; opportunities are created by oneself.

As for what to do after getting in touch with Xiao Wang Leng Qiu, putting everything else aside, the first thing to do is to cultivate a correct outlook on life in this young girl and warn her that no matter what happens in the future, she must never choose to take her own life.

He only hoped that the girl would remember this incident.

"Uncle Xia, do you know what time school lets out in the afternoon?" he asked.

"It was around 5 o'clock... but that was in the summer. Now it's autumn, and it gets dark faster, so it should be earlier."

Uncle Xia pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked puzzled and asked, "Why are you asking this?"

Why would this outsider care what time the children in this area get out of school and what they're doing?
"I'm just curious whether children in the countryside and children in the city get out of school at different times."

Han Zhou naturally couldn't say he was going to "pick up the child," so he just made up an excuse.

But Uncle Xia still felt something was wrong. Didn't this child say last night that he was going to see that friend today? Why is he now concerned about something else?

and many more.

Friends, school's out, kids...

A look of horror flashed in his eyes, and a bizarre guess suddenly came to his mind—

Could it be that……

The friend this young man was talking about...

Is she actually a married woman who already has a child?
Some of them are even children old enough to be in elementary school?!

No wonder that was a friend he longed to see but couldn't; no wonder that friend changed his phone number to hide; and no wonder this young man would travel so far to take his own life...

In an instant, Uncle Xia felt that all his previous doubts suddenly became clear, and his gaze towards Han Zhou also held a more complex meaning.

He didn't know what had happened between the young man and his friend with a child, but he imagined it must have been a story full of regrets.

After a long silence, he finally couldn't help but raise his hand and gently pat Han Zhou's shoulder, saying something profound.

"Aside from the possible difference in household registration, there's nothing else that's different."

(End of this chapter)